Den­ver mayor hon­ors po­lice o∞cers

It was 3 a.m. when Den­ver po­lice of­fi­cer Adam Foisy came across an 11-year-old boy wan­der­ing through down­town.

“He was the youngest kid I had ever found alone down­town at night,” Foisy said.

The of­fi­cer drove the trou­bled young run­away home and quickly found out he was an as­pir­ing basketball player. Foisy soon re­turned to the boy’s home with a new basketball. Later, he col­lected gift cards to buy new school clothes and raised money for a schol­ar­ship to the Carey Basketball Camp.

Foisy was one of 12 of­fi­cers hon­ored Wed­nes­day by Mayor Michael Han­cock and Cit­i­zens Ap­pre­ci­ate Po­lice, an or­ga­ni­za­tion that rec­og­nizes po­lice work.

Founded in 1978, the or­ga­ni­za­tion awards of­fi­cers who have com­mit­ted good deeds in the com­mu­ni­ties where they pa­trol.

The awards are an ef­fort to com­mem­o­rate pos­i­tive sto­ries of polic­ing, the or­ga­ni­za­tion said in a pam­phlet.

Years af­ter he met the boy on pa­trol, Foisy re­mains in monthly con­tact with his mother. The boy has been get­ting in trou­ble with au­thor­i­ties re­cently, but “even if he does get in trou­ble, I see the good, smart kid in him,” Foisy said.

Of­fi­cers Ana Munoz and Ryan Phillips and Cpl. James Costi­gan were also hon­ored. One night they came across a fa­ther and his three chil­dren liv­ing in a car, and they bought gas for the fam­ily and booked them into a two-night stay at a ho­tel.

Han­cock ended the cer­e­mony with a short speech thank­ing the of­fi­cers.